Sally Ann
by rosehill
Summary: The three teenage defenders are having fun at a party but things suddenly go wrong. Warning: sexual content and abuse.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: none of these characters belong to me (well, the OCs do but I'm not too possessive). No copyright infringement intended.

 _Sally Ann_

It was 10 pm at Tom Adams' party and Rick Gordon was starting to wonder why he was here. There was not a single interesting person to talk to, L.J. was splashing everyone in the pool and Jedda was talking with a girl about, well, girl stuff. Everyone was acting so silly and it was boring. Rick considered himself a genius. He didn't mind a little fun from time to time but what was the point of acting like that?

Rick suddenly realized that Jedda was in front of him, saying something he couldn't hear because the music was too loud. He shook his head and she started signing. It was lucky that they all had to learned sign language as a part of their training.

"Call a cab", she signed.

"I'll drive you home", he signed back.

"Call a cab now! Emergency!"

She gestured at a girl lying onto a couch with her eyes closed. She was obviously drunk and a boy was already stroking her legs. Jedda sighed, walked straight to the boy and grabbed his hands.

Suddenly Rick felt very uneasy. That boy could have raped that girl in the middle of the party and nobody was reacting! He walked to the stereo and unplugged it. The music stopped immediately and everyone stopped dancing.

"Why did you do that?" a random girl asked Rick.

"You know this girl?" he asked, gesturing at the drunk girl.

"Yeah, of course, it's Sally Ann Sanders."

"Then call a cab now. She needs to go back home."

The girl's eyes went wide. She grabbed her phone and started looking for a cab company's number. Rick walked to Jedda for support. She was already arguing with the boy.

"Leave her alone!" she said.

"Whoa! Whoa! Calm down, little girl! Are you on your period?"

"None of your business. You were trying to sexually assault Sally. I saw you!"

"Uh?" the boy said. "No. she was asking for it. Anyway, aren't we talking about slutty Ann?"

He burst into laughter, quickly imitated by many other boys. Rick walked to Sally. She whimpered and clutched a half-empty glass. He took it from her hand and frowned.

"I'm keeping this for evidence", he said. "You'll end up in jail if you put drugs into her drink."

"Hey, you can't do that!" the boy said. "I'm Timmy Higgins, the base-ball team captain! The school needs me! I'm the mayor's son and I'll never go to Harvard if you send me into jail!"

"I'm Flash Gordon's son and I'm a straight A student", Rick answered very calmly. "And you know what? My dad would ground me forever if I assaulted an innocent girl like you just did, and he would be right!"

"But I'm the base-ball team captain and that girl is a slut! Everyone knows she's a slut! Why should I pay for that girl's sins?"

Everyone started whispering. Some girls who had been drinking looked at their glasses and put them away. One of them started crying. Other teenagers where already phoning their parents or trying to leave the room, stumbling. Then Sally Ann tried to get up.

"I'm gonna puke…" she whispered.

"It's OK", Jedda said, putting her arm around her. "Where do you live?"

"A slut helping a slut!" Timmy said with contempt. "How touching!"

Then a random boy walked directly to Timmy and whispered something into his ear. Timmy's face fell and he stared at Jedda in disbelief.

"So, your father is the Phantom of Bengalla?" he asked slowly.

"Leave my father out of this!" Jedda said.

Timmy went very pale and tried to stutter something. Jedda glared at him one last time and nodded at Rick. Both helped Sally Ann onto her feet and left the room. There was a cab waiting in front of the house.

"I… I'm so sorry…" Sally stuttered.

"You shouldn't be sorry", Jedda said soothingly. " _That boy_ should be sorry."

 _To be continued..._


	2. Chapter 2

Jedda came back later and found police cars in front of the house and teenagers leaving. Rick and L.J. were waiting for her. They had a quick explanation with the policemen and then they left in Rick's car.

"Was Sally OK?" Rick asked while driving.

"I sure hope so. I don't understand. Why was he calling her a slut? And what's a slut, by the way?"

The boys glanced at each other uncomfortably. Being raised in the jungle, Jedda was clueless about a lot of city things. This was going to be the most awkward explanation ever.

"You tell her", Rick said.

"Well, OK", L.J. said. "A slut is a girl who, well, behaves inappropriately."

"What do you mean, inappropriately?"

"She… doesn't respect herself, you see?"

"No", Jedda said. " _That boy_ didn't respect her. That's the point."

"I mean, L.J. said, "you see, she kisses a lot of boys and she wears clothes that show a lot of skin."

"You mean, like the dress I'm wearing right now?"

Rick glanced at Jedda's sleeveless, knee-length dress and suppressed a chuckle. Sally Ann had been wearing the same kind of dress, which was making things even more awkward.

"Nothing's wrong with your dress", L.J. said hurriedly. "It's nice for an evening party. But do you imagine yourself wearing something close to nothing in a public place?"

"Of course!" Jedda said. "In Bengalla, when the heat becomes unbearable, people sometimes go around naked! Why would it be a problem?"

"Don't say that to anybody!" L.J. said hurriedly. "People would think you're a slut, or a kid raised in a cave or…"

"L.J., please, I _was_ raised in a cave."

Rick repressed another chuckle. L.J. rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Jedda, believe me, don't _ever_ go around naked in Central City. That's dangerous. Showing too much skin is dangerous."

"I don't want to go around naked in Central City", she said thoughtfully. "Anyway, I have sensitive skin, so I can't. So I get it: you're a slut!"

"What?"

"You went shirtless the whole evening, didn't you? You're a slut!"

Rick burst into laughter and had to stop the car. L.J. put his hands onto his face.

"That's different!" he said. "I'm a boy!"

"I don't understand."

"Well, boys and girls are different."

"I really, really don't understand", Jedda said. "Sally Ann is such a nice person! Did that boy assault her because she's a girl?"

"Did she have more than a boyfriend?" Rick asked, winking at L.J..

L.J. glared at him. Jedda didn't notice the glare and answered:

"I think she dated many different boys within the last three years. Why?"

"Tell her!" Rick told L.J., laughing.

"Tell me what?" Jedda asked.

"Well, there's that stupid legend in Central City", Rick said. "They say a girl who kisses more than one boy is a slut!"

"I don't understand", Jedda said. "Yes, she loved all these boys, which means she has a very loving heart. What's wrong with love?"

The boys glanced at each other. They were both so embarrassed they could hardly think of something. Eventually, L.J. said:

"Nothing wrong with love. Please, don't blame Rick or me, we didn't make the rules."

"Where are those rules written?"

"Nowhere!" Rick said laughing. "But, well, I read something once somewhere. They said it has something to do with the boys' feelings. When a boy learns that his girlfriend kissed a lot of boys before him, he often feels he isn't worth much, you see?"

Jedda sighed deeply.

"I see", she said. "You know, I'm trying very hard not to be judgmental but this I really don't understand. Girls are sluts because they follow their hearts and they should not follow their heart because boys have low self-esteem and feel belittled when girls do whatever they want with their own hearts and their own bodies. Thank for the ride Rick but I'm going to walk to the manor. I need some time alone. Bye!"

The door slammed and Rick and L.J. found themselves alone in the car. They stared at each other.

"Shouldn't we run after her?" Rick asked.

"You heard her, she needs some time alone", L.J. answered. "Anyway, if a hooligan tries to bother her, she'll most probably break his nose. I wouldn't like to be in his shoes."

Rick laughed nervously and started the engine again. He was still feeling awkward and he was trying to find something to say.

"Do you remember your mom?" he asked suddenly.

"Uh? Barely. I was only four when she… you know."

"Now I know what's great about mine", Rick said. "She was… she's a feminist. When I was 13 and I started spending some time with a girl, she told me I should never, ever kiss her without her consent. OK, that girl and I only spent time as friends but I never forgot what my mom told me, that's why I was really upset when I saw what that boy did to Sally Ann. Everyone should have a feminist mother."

"You can say that again."

The car stopped in front of the manor. There were some lights at the windows, which meant the adult defenders were not sleeping yet. The boys entered and found Mandrake reading in front of the fireplace.

"Good evening", he said. "You know, we were expecting you to come home much later."

"The party was not that good", L.J. said without lying.

"Isn't Jedda with you?"

"She'll be here soon", Rick said. "She drove a friend back home."

Technically, it was not a lie. The boys went to bed early and pretended that nothing had happened.

 _To be continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

The day after, Jedda knocked at Sally Ann's door, carrying a bunch of flowers under each arm. A woman in her mid-forties opened the door.

"Hello", Jedda said. "I'm…"

"You're the friend who drove my daughter back home last night!" the woman said with a broad smile. "Thank god, I'm glad there are still people like you. Come, Sally is upstairs."

Jedda entered, went upstairs and knocked at Sally's door. Her room looked like a classical teenager's bedroom with clothes all over the floor and posters on the wall. Sally was sitting on the bed, wearing an old bathrobe. Her eyes were red with tears.

"Please, don't speak too loudly", she whispered. "My head hurts. Are these flowers for me?"

"Of course", Jedda said. "The red and white ones are from Rick, L.J. and me and the tiger lilies…"

"From Timmy", Sally Ann said.

"How did you guess?" Jedda asked.

"Well, he asked me out six months ago. I told him I wasn't interested. Then he sent me tiger lilies. Then he sent me more tiger lilies. And then he told me I had to give him a chance because he had sent me those flowers I hadn't asked for."

"I don't understand", Jedda said. "You can buy food, clothes and many other things but feelings cannot be sold or bought. Did he really believe he could buy your heart with those flowers?"

"Of course!" she said. "Boys don't understand these things. What happened last night? I don't remember everything."

"Sally, I'm sorry. Be strong. Timmy tried to assault you."

Sally Ann started weeping. Jedda dropped the flowers and embraced her. Sally was shaking and trying hard to utter a sentence. Her friend stroked her hair.

"It will be OK", she said. "Everyone saw what happened. It was _his_ fault, not yours and anyway, he didn't… you know."

"Everyone will call me a whore, now", Sally stuttered. "I… I'm so stupid! Why did I drink?"

Jedda sighed. This was not going to be easy. What could she say?

"You know", she said slowly, "I went drunk once, too. It's a really, really bad memory. I shouldn't have done that and I shouldn't have put myself in danger that night. But _everyone_ makes mistakes from time to time. They shouldn't call you a 'wall' or whatever this weird word means just because you made a mistake once, and Timmy shouldn't have taken advantage of it, anyway. HE was wrong: a real gentleman doesn't do that kind of things. You're a human being with feelings and rights, remember? Alcohol doesn't make you less of a human being."

"Jedda, please!" Sally Ann shrieked. "Do you really think a boy can keep calm and say "I'm fine" when a girl turns him down?"

"Of course. In Bengalla, we believe each soul has a special vibe. When a woman turns a man down, she just says their souls don't have similar vibes so they wouldn't be happy together. He accepts it and he starts searching for someone with a, well, more matching soul."

Sally looked at her friend incredulously and started laughing nervously.

"Then I want to live in Bengalla!" she said. "It sounds like the best place on Earth!"

"It is."

Sally Ann wiped a tear, bent down to grab the flowers and looked at them thoughtfully.

"You can tell your friends I love the flowers", she said. "White is my favorite color. On the other hand…"

An envelope fell from the tiger lilies and she didn't finish her sentence. Jedda grabbed the envelope and frowned.

"It seems that he sent us a letter", she said. "Would you like to read it?"

"No! You can read it if you want but I don't! I mean, not now. I'm not ready."

Jedda nodded, read the letter and frowned.

"He apologizes", she said.

"What?"

"He apologizes to the two of us. I don't understand."

"Is this letter really from Timmy Higgings?" Sally asked, puzzled.

"Is this his handwriting?"

Sally grabbed the letter and read.

"Dear Sally Ann and dear Jedda. I apologize to the two of you. I shouldn't have called you sluts and I shouldn't have tried to undress Sally. I drank too much and it made me act stupid. I'll never drink again. Now I hope you won't hold a grudge against me and you won't tell anybody. It's just a teenager thing, there's no need to tell adults about it. I'm sorry. Bye."

"That's so unlike him…" Sally said. "Do you think someone threatened him?"

"No. Just before I left someone mentioned my father in front of him and he calmed down. I think he's afraid of my father, that's all. This is sad as he seems to believe we're another man's property but on the other hand, he won't bother you again"

Sally wiped a tear. Maybe everything was going to go back to normal, after all.

"Thanks", she said. "You've been so nice with me! I'm sorry, you have to fight Ming the Merciless all the time and now there's that boy Timmy…"

"I never realized it before", Jedda said, "but there's one single thing I appreciate about Ming. At least he's honest about himself. He doesn't pretend to be a misunderstood victim. Are all boys in Central City like that Timmy?"

"Not all boys but… well…"

Sally started crying again and Jedda embraced her.

"Cry now", she said. "Tears clean the heart and make you feel better."

A few minutes passed and Sally eventually calmed down.

"I'm OK", she said. "Can you please leave now? I'd like to shower and do stuff, you see?"

"Of course. You know, maybe you should sue him."

Sally Ann laughed nervously.

"Sue him? Everyone will say I'm a gold-digger who makes false accusations to ruin the baseball captain's reputation! They'll call me 'slutty Ann' forever!"

"You have witnesses: Rick and me! We'll stand by you whatever happens!"

Sally wiped a tear. For once, it was a tear of joy.

"Thank you very much", she said. "But I don't feel strong enough to do that, you see?"

"I see. Just call me if you change your mind."

The girls hugged again and Jedda left. In her room, Sally was getting ready to shower.

 _The end._

Author's note: I know this is a very creepy fanfiction. Unfortunately, it was inspired by real-life events. In 2013, in Steubenbille, a rape survivor was actually blamed for ruining her rapists' reputation. In Canada, a girl call Rehtaeh was also raped and eventually committed suicide at 17, and people also blame her. R.I.P. Rehtaeh.


End file.
